Millions of vending machines have been operating for a few decades around the world. These vending machines were manufactured at different time, by different manufacturers and under different protocols in standalone operations. Modernizing such a wide range of vending machines is almost impossible and very costly due to the variety in design, wiring, communication protocol and software. Offline electronic payment systems may not be able to meet the fast-changing consumer needs. For the vending machine operators, the owner of the vending machines has to collect coins, notes and transaction files manually on site. This is a time consuming and expensive process.
Companies that sell products through the vending machines also face a significant ongoing challenge i.e. for sales status, sold out items and condition of the machines. In today's competitive world, companies have their vending machines distributed over a wide geography and the necessity of manual inspection to determine stock levels and to ensure that the machines are operating properly.
In the cyber age, online big data is required so that sales information, customer preference, product demand as well as out of stock situation can be obtained immediately. Fast replenishment can increase sales of products. Limited space inside vending machine makes the improvement task more difficult. There is a need of system that can remotely control the vending machine which will significantly reduce the time and cost for the companies in order to maintain the vending machines.